ECOVIEWS: How do animals get their names?

ECOVIEWS: How do animals get their names?

Many scientific names acknowledge some distinctive aspect of a plant or animal. For example, the scientific name for the Alabama waterdog, an aquatic, flat-tailed salamander native to the Black Warrior River, is Necturus alabamensis. The genus name is derived from two Greek words, “nektos” (swimming) and “oura” (tail). The “alabamensis” signals that the animal’s geographic range is within the state.